Machine for coiling wire and rods



2 Sheets-Sheet. 1.

W. J. LEWLS. Machine for Coiling W1re and Rods.

No. 229,718. I P tented July 6,1880.

N.PEIERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON D O- 2 Sheets8heet 2.

W. J. LEWIS. Machine for Coiling Wire and Rods. NO. 229,718

Ptented July 6,1880. Fig.3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM J. LEWIS, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

MACHINE FOR COILING WIRE AND RODS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 229,718, dated July 6,1880.

Application filed November 18, 1879.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. LEWIS, ofPittsburg,in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania,haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Machinery forCoiling Wire and Rods; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use it,referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of thisspecification, in which- Figure l is a front elevation of the machine.Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine. Fig. 3 is a top view of thesame. Fig. 4: is a detail view.

This invention relates to machinery for coiling wire and rods inwire-mills as they emerge from the roll-train.

Such machinery usually consists of a reel revolved by power and providedwith a stripper for throwing off the coil when wound; but the coil isapt to become unwound more or less while being ejected from the machine,and still more in cooling, and the machine being always in motion,difficulty arises in inserting a new wire for coiling.

I propose to do away with these difficulties, and to these and otherends my invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts,all as hereinafter fully described and claimed.

More particularly, my invention is as follows: Journaled in bearingsupon a suitable table or bed is a shaft, A, receiving motion by means ofa belt and pulley or otherwise. On shaft A, I construct a collar, I,with a diagonal groove cut in its face, as shown. J ournaled on thetable, at right angles to shaft A, but somewhat below it, is arock-shaft, a, fitted with the two cranks f and c. Orank f has astud orpin projecting into the groove in the collar I, so that as collar Irevolves the crank f is given an oscillatory movement to and fro, andlike wise crank c. A pitman, d, is fitted to the wrist of crank c, andat the outer end is pivoted to the upper. end of the guide G, which at apoint below is pivotally suspended on a bracket, g, so that when thepitman reciprocates it vibrates the guide G. The guide is of anelongated-U shape and flaring.

A spur-wheel, B, is keyed on the shaft A, and this meshes with a pinion,O, on a shaft D run ning parallel with shaft A. Shaft lar throughout,and at its outer end carries the reel H. Shafts D and A thus revolvetogether; but the gearing is such that D has greater speed than A. Acircu nferentiallygrooved collar, E, is fitted to slide on shaft D, andis moved thereon, when required, by means of a crank, F, whosebifurcated end embraces collar E and has studs or pins projecting intoits groove. OrankF is keyed on a rockshaft, b, in the base of the table,and this shaft is provided with either a hand-lever, h, or a treadle, sothat by operating said lever or treadle the collar E will moveaccordingly on the shaft D. Inside shaft'D is a second shaft, J, towhich the collar E is rigidly attached by a connecting-pin which playsin a long slotin the tubular shaft D, and thus the inner shaft, J,-partakes of the motion of collar E. To the outer end of shaft J isattached the stripper, which consists of a number of radial arms, 0 e ec, which sweep backwardly so as to describe a cusp or a cone inrevolving. The reel H is made up of a series of V-shaped arms, the wideportions being toward the axis.

Operation: The wire is passed through the guide G, which is below theaxis of the reel, and the flaring slits formed by the V-arms of the reelafford it an easy entrance, and thus the wire is locked withoutdifficulty. The reel continues revolving, but the wire is compelled bythe vibrating guide to assume a zigzag course thereon, and thus thesuccessive convolutions form, as it were, an interlocking system, whichwill not unwind when released from the reel, besides making a broadercoil than usual. When coiled, the workman operates the lever or treadleh, and this causes the stripper c e e e to push the coil off the reel,and the conical form of the stripper prevents the coil from catching onanything in its fall.

While I have described a particular means of vibrating the guide, I donot confine myself to such, as other means can be readily adopted.Again, the exact relations of the respective parts may be varied-as, forinstance, the diagonal groove in the collar I may be replaced by anundulating cam-groove, so as to give the guide a more rapid vibration.

E9318 tubu- In these machines the wire or rod is coiled direct from theroll-train while still hot enough to be diliioult to handle. \Vhile inthis condition a long rod will be readily guided laterally, it is foundto be more difficult to guide it to a definite vertical height. Hence Iconstruct the flaring guide G of an elongated-U shape, so that therewill be plenty of room for the proper vertical delivery of the initialend of the wire or rod.

I am aware that it is common to make winding-reels with peripheral armsor rods parallel with the axis; but my reel is given a special form. Theperipheral arms are V-shaped in section, the apex of the V being on theout side. Thus constructed, the sides of two arms present a convergingspace, narrowing down to a mere slit finally at the base of the Vs.Thus, with a given number of arms, each having a sharp, or comparativelysharp, edge, and the sides forming directive surfaces, no difficulty ismet with in effecting the entrance of the wire or rod into the reel.With the ordinary round or square arms, in order to have the wire lockitself by striking diagonally behind one bar and in front of the next,the bars should be and are close together, and then it is difiicult toeffect the entrance of the wire between the arms of the reel while thelatter is in rapid rotation; but the V-shaped arms entirely obviatethese difliculties. The apices of the VS may be far apart and the basesclose together, and thus the wire is easily inserted, and the proximityof the bases effects a sudden beud of the wire end as it emerges betweenthe arms. The guide before described being placed below the axis of thereel, the wire end goes in toward the under half of the reel, which isthus always traveling toward the end to be inserted, and the wire isalmost certain in every case to obtain an entrance. When, as is usuallythe case, the guide is on a level with the axis or above it, the armspass by with such great rapidity comparatively that frequently the wirebuckles up and is rendered useless for its purpose.

What I claim as my invention is as follows:

1. In a wire or rod coiling machine, an elongated-U-shaped guide havinga flaring front and parallel sides.

2. In a coiling-machine, the combination of the reel, the shaft A,collar 1, having camgroove, studded crankf, shaft a, crank c, pitman 01,and pivoted guide G, substantially as described.

3. In a coiling-machine, the combination of tubular shaft D and reel Hwith the collar E, shaft J, and stripper e e e e, substantially asshown.

4. In a coiling-machine, a reel, H, composed of V-shaped arms havingtheir broad portions facing the axis, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM J. LEWIS.

Witnesses:

JAMES J. MCTIGHE, T. J. MCTIGHE.

